Heart's Desires (14 page)

CHAPTER 23

             
Chase had been at Premier for over an hour and she still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Lorenzo.  She knew about playing it cool, but this was damn ridiculous.  Her tight dress was beginning to get on her nerves because it kept riding up, and the beautiful shoes that graced her feet were starting to kill her.  She decided it was about time she called it a night.  Plus, she was tired of getting hit on by the random dudes at the bar.

              Chase gave the signal to the J.C Inc. boys that were posted at the bar nearest to the exit that it was time to wrap it up and go home.

              She was headed toward the door when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.  She turned abruptly, about to give somebody a tongue lashing, when she saw the man of the hour.

              Lorenzo peered into Chase’s big brown eyes that were wide with surprise.  He felt the urge to kiss on her beautiful pouty lips until all of the luscious pink lip gloss was gone.  Instead, he smiled a genuine smile that lit up his ocean blue eyes.

              “Hey, Doll Face.  Where are you off to so fast?” 

              Chase smiled up at him.  She knew his game; she had been there long enough for him to know she was there, and she knew he had to be watching her since he caught her right as she was about to leave. 

              He was a man that liked control, and she would be damned if she gave it to him.  “Oh, I was just about to head out.  It’s been a long day, and I’ve had my fun.”

              “Head out?  The night’s still young.  Why don’t you stick around and have a drink on me.”  Lorenzo slid closer, enveloping her small hand in his large one, and gave her a seductive smile.

              “No, thanks.  I’ve had enough to drink. Maybe next time.” 
Plus I already gave the signal to my backup to pack it in.  The biggest mistake you can make being undercover is going in without backup. 
Chase’s mind went to her old partner, and she couldn’t help the shiver that came over her at her thoughts.

              “Next time?  Really?”  Lorenzo stated incredulously.  He couldn’t believe a woman was turning him down.  He knew that his ego may have been big, but it was not without merit.  He’d had his fair share of women, and none of them had any complaints.

              “Yes.  Really.”  Chase slid her delicate small hand from his large one.  “Maybe I’ll see you around,” she said over her shoulder as she sauntered past the bar and out of the door.  She would have to make up another opportunity to get him to ask her out because tonight she was going to play it safe.  She was too good of an agent to go off without backup, and she just couldn’t take that chance.

***

              Lorenzo couldn’t believe that she had just left.  He had never in his life been so frustrated and turned on at the same time.  He really needed to find out who in the hell this woman was, and he let her get away yet again without setting up an official date.  He shook his head in disbelief.  She looked so damn good in that tight white dress, as if the heavens opened up and dropped an ebony angel amongst mere mortals.  Her deep chocolate skin practically glowed against the bright fabric that hugged every one of her delectable curves.  Lorenzo had seen her when she came in, and it took everything in him not to run to her and stake his claim.  He had never had thoughts like that before, and that shook him a little, so instead of making himself known, he sat back and played it cool.  But now he was thinking that may have been a mistake.  Although she didn’t seem to talk to or give her attention to any one guy for too long, she definitely made it clear that she was not going to make it easy for him either.

              “Hey, Moretti.  What’s got you all silent, staring off into the abyss?”  Justin questioned as he walked up from behind Lorenzo, who was still standing in the same place staring after Chase.

              At his interrupted musings, Lorenzo shrugged.  “Got a lot going on. You know how it is.” “What are you doing here?  Seeing you this much has to be some sort of record.”  Lorenzo stated nonchalantly as he turned and addressed Justin directly.

              “You own the hottest spot in town.  Where else would I be?”  Justin commented, looking around the club.  “Plus, the wife’s out of town.  Might as well make the best of a good thing, if you know what I mean.”  Justin’s face held a devious expression, and his honey brown eyes glowed with mischief.

              Lorenzo just shook his head.  He never understood why people got married if they were going to just run around on their spouse, although he knew exactly why Justin married his wife: her money.  His wife’s family had a lot of money.  “So just a night out without the ole’ ball and chain huh?”  Lorenzo asked suspiciously.

              “Yep, just trying to see if I can land me some strange for the night.”  Justin laughed as if he had told the funniest joke in the world.

              Lorenzo stared at him blankly. 
The shit I put up with to keep things civil.

“Yeah, well good luck with that.”  Lorenzo turned and walked away before he said anything more.  Justin being at Premier wasn’t a coincidence; there was definitely a reason, and Lorenzo needed to find out if it had to do with Tommy because he knew deep in his soul his punk ass cousin was up to something, and he was trying his best to get Lorenzo mixed up in his shit.

***

              Justin saw Jan from across the bar. He walked up to her slowly and seductively. When she saw him, she batted her long fake eyelashes in his direction. Her big blue eyes were filled with lust.
              “Justin, it’s nice to see you.”  Jan teasingly pushed her fake breasts in his face, knowing that he could never resist them.
              "Nice to see you too, Jan.”  Justin’s lustful gaze swept Jan’s petite figure from head to toe.  He stepped closer to her and whispered, “You know my wife is out of town, so I hope you're up for a night of fun." He smiled deviously as he moved into her space, placing his large hands around her narrow waist.
              Jan smiled a big toothy grin. She loved spending time with Justin.  She often looked forward to their stolen moments of bliss.  He was all man, and he knew just how to work his long thick pole just right to make her scream in delight.
Too bad his wife was always around.  She is so damn needy.
  Jan rolled her eyes at the thought of Justin’s wife.
              “Well that’s good news. We’ve had a lot of business lately, so we have a lot of celebrating to do.”  Jan smiled mischievously as she leaned into his muscular body and smashed her breasts up against him.

Justin laughed.  “You’re right, we do need to celebrate, but not here. Lorenzo is acting suspiciously.”  Justin lowered his voice and leaned in even more to whisper in her ear once again.  “Tommy wanted to meet up later, but I told him to lie low.  He’s getting antsy and if we’re not careful, we could get caught up in a fuck load of trouble.”
              Jan shook her head, her voice raising in panic.  “He's going to mess things up for us.  If Lorenzo finds out what we've been doing, he will kill us both.”
              “Shut the fuck up, Jan! Anybody could be listening right now.  I’ve told you about runnin’ your fuckin’ mouth!  We need to be smart.  This is easy money, and we've been doing this for too long to get caught now,” Justin said through clenched teeth.  “Just make sure you stick to the plan and find out what the fuck that accountant is up to.”
              “I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me what I need to do.”  She huffed in annoyance.  “This is my money too you know, and I don’t have a rich wife to back me up.”  Jan’s face turned from annoyed to serious in a blink of an eye.  “This is the easiest money I’ve ever made, and fucking Tommy Angeletti will not mess this up for me!”

“Look you need to calm the fuck down.”  Justin was looking around nervously.  Jan acted like a brat sometimes, and if she didn’t get her way, she was known to throw tantrums.  However, she was just as money hungry as he was, and no matter how many tantrums she may have thrown, he knew he could trust her to keep her mouth shut because she wanted the easy money as much as he did.  Besides, they had been using Lorenzo’s club for over two years now without anyone catching on to what they were doing.

“Just keep your eyes open, and let me know when we can start filtering in more stuff.”  Justin was still holding Jan close; to anyone looking at them they were just two lovers canoodling in a corner, but in reality, they were planning and plotting to embezzle funds from a very powerful man.

CHAPTER 24

Charlie and Jake made it home safely. They had fun dancing and laughing with their friends, and though they had a little disagreement, the night ended well.  But, Charlie was still a little uneasy about Jake not telling her he was working that night.  She had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what he said.
              After calling an Uber from the club, and saying goodbye to their friends, they made it back to Charlie’s condo. Jake took a deep breath, realizing he was going to have to come clean to Charlie about what was going on at Premier and his suspicions about Lorenzo Moretti.
              “Heart, baby I know you’re upset, but this was for your own good.”  Jake looked deep into her hazel eyes, his green eyes filled with sincerity. “I just needed a little more time to work on this case before I told you what was going on.”
              Charlie interrupted him. “What does Premier have to do with your case? I want the truth, Jacob!” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.
              Jake sighed deeply. “I know I owe you an explanation, Heart, but I just didn't want to upset you.  We’re new to this and I didn’t want to rock the boat so soon.” 

Jake slowly walked to her and embraced her.  Even though she was mad, she still melted in his strong arms. “I needed to make sure that I had all the facts before I came to you with this.”
              “Jake, just please tell me what's going on, and start from the beginning.”  Charlie turned in his arms and looked into his strong handsome face, waiting for his explanation.
              “All right, Heart, but what I tell you stays between us, understand?”  Jake looked at her seriously. “People's lives could be in danger if anyone found out this information.”
              “I understand, Jacob. You know I would never do anything to endanger anyone.”  Charlie’s beautiful face had a serious expression as she continued to look into his handsome face.
              “I know, baby, but sometimes people let things slip, and I can’t have that happen.  We can’t afford for that to happen.  Do you understand?”
              Charlie nodded her head vigorously. “I understand. I promise not to say anything. I know how to keep my mouth shut.”
              Jake took a deep breath.  “I know you saw the lady in the white dress tonight. She's a federal agent and we’re working with her to get evidence against a guy named Tommy Angeletti. He’s been seen in and out of different businesses in Fort Worth. The last one he was in was Premier.”
              Charlie’s eyes were wide with disbelief.  “Oh my God! I was there when he was at the club. I mean I don't know if it was Tommy Angeletti, but I'm pretty sure. I heard him and Lorenzo arguing over something, and I heard Lorenzo call his name, Tommy.”
              Jake tensed when he heard this information. “Shit, Heart, do you remember what they were talking about?”
              “No, not really. I was at the door. They were arguing about something.  I remember Lorenzo saying he wasn't going to do anything for the family anymore.  But that’s all I heard before I walked in the room and they stopped their conversation.”
              Jake was really upset at her revelation. He couldn’t believe that Tommy Angeletti had been there at the same time his woman was. He didn’t like this situation one bit.
              “Tommy Angeletti is in the mob. He’s a very dangerous man, capable of anything, and if he was at the club talking with Lorenzo, then he may be working with him too.”
              “So are you saying Lorenzo is in the mob?”  Charlie questioned incredulously.
              “No, what I’m saying is Tommy Angeletti is the mob, and Lorenzo is his cousin.”
              Charlie couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been working at Premier for over four months and she never suspected Lorenzo was tied to the mob. She’d heard the rumors, like everyone else, but she did not believe them.
              “Shit! I cannot believe this! Getting into this type of mess is Korri’s M.O. not mine.”  Charlie slightly backed up from Jake. She started shaking her head and wringing her hands nervously.
              Jake took her small hands into his large ones to stop her from wringing them. He took her into a warm tight hug, trying to calm her down.  He began to stroke her back in a comforting motion.
              “I know this is shocking, baby, but I need to know if you remember anything else about that day,” Jake stated, still stroking her back and holding her tightly.
              “No, he left shortly after I came into the room. But right after that Lorenzo had me working on a special project.” 
              “I remember.  What kind of special project?”  Jake asked, pulling back to look into her beautiful face.
              “He has me going through a lot of records for the past five years. He told me to be thorough, but he wouldn't tell me what to look for.”
              “So when you went through these records, did you find anything?”  Jake questioned, his eyes narrowing in thought.
              “Actually, I did. There were discrepancies in some of the months.  In the middle of each month there was an influx of cash that seemed to come from nowhere.”  Charlie was still shaking at the thought she could be working for the mob.

“So how many months did this happen?”

“From what I’ve seen so far, at least nine, maybe ten months, but I haven’t gone over all the books and payroll, so really it could’ve happened more.”

Jake was nodding his head, taking in everything Charlie was saying.  “This could potentially be a very dangerous situation, Heart, and I don’t know if I have it in me to let you go back in there by yourself.”

Charlie could see the worry lining Jake’s gorgeous face.  Hell, she was worried too.  She didn’t want to work for the fucking mob.  That’s how people ended up “sleeping with the fishes.” 
Hell no… not me!

“Does anybody else know that you’re looking into the financials of the club?”  Jake asked, bringing Charlie out of her dark thoughts.

“No, in fact he insisted that I not tell anyone what I was working on, not even Jan the manager.”

“That’s interesting.”  Jake was rubbing his hands through his beard, something he often did when he was thinking.  “So you and Lorenzo are the only ones with access to these records?”

“As far as I know, we are.  They are kept locked in the office, and as far as I can tell, nobody else has access to them.”

Jake nodded.  “So do the financials look like they were baked?  Could someone have fixed them?”

“Maybe, but like I said, I haven’t gone through them all to find a consistent pattern.”

Jake and Charlie spent another hour talking in detail about what she found out in the financial records at the club.  She also told him about the retired accountant, Mr. Simms, who also would’ve gone through some of the records.

With the limited information he had, Jake couldn’t tell if Lorenzo was involved in anything illegal or not, but common sense said that he wasn’t if he had Charlie looking into the records. A guilty man wouldn’t want anyone anywhere near dirty books.  And although Jake hated to admit it, the son of a bitch just might be caught in something he had nothing to do with.             

***

After a long, exhausting night of trying to figure out if Lorenzo was working with the mob, Charlie and Jake fell into bed completely worn out, however neither one of them could sleep, and they were both wide awake with tension. Jake knew that he had to figure out sooner rather than later what was going on, and Charlie had to figure out if she even wanted to go back to work at Premier
.
              “Bear, are you still awake?” Charlie whispered into the dark room.  She was snuggled against Jake’s massive body.
              “Yeah, Heart, I am, mostly because you keep wiggling your sweet ass against me.”  Jake moaned as he adjusted his growing erection.
              “Oh! I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Charlie said, turning to look into his intense gaze.

“It’s ok, baby. I couldn't sleep.” Jake sighed deeply. “I know you have tomorrow off, and we were supposed to spend the day together, but with everything that’s going on, I need to go into the office to see if we can’t figure out what’s happening with Lorenzo before you step one foot back in that place.”
              "I understand, Bear, and I actually agree with you. I don't think I could act natural around Lorenzo now, and I don’t want to blow your case.  But if I don't show up for work, he’ll know something’s going on.”  Charlie’s beautiful face was marred with uncertainty and frustration.
              “You’re right, and you certainly don’t want to raise suspicions. I’ll talk to Chase and see what, if anything, she may have found out.” 
              Charlie sighed deeply. “This is all a lot to handle, Bear. I’m scared.  I’m an accountant.  I’m not built for this shit.”
              “Heart, you know I’ll do anything to protect you, honey.”  Jake placed his hand under her chin and lifted her lips to his.  His kiss was soft and reassuring.  “I promise.  You don’t have to be scared.”